--- title: GOP Health Care Plan: Republicans Criticize House Proposal description: The health care plan released Monday by House Republicans has drawn criticism from several conservative lawmakers. Here's who has spoken out canonical: https://time.com/4693917/republicans-health-care-draft-criticism/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-07T20:37:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:33.724Z article:section: Politics og:title: These Republicans Have Criticized the New House GOP Health Care Plan og:description: Several Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about the plan thus far og:url: https://time.com/4693917/republicans-health-care-draft-criticism/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7fc225f0c7767ee5/6988b26f0a4a2240b29cc4e9/rand-paul-obamacare.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Rand Paul og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Republicans Have Criticized the New House GOP Health Care Plan twitter:description: Several Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about the plan thus far twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7fc225f0c7767ee5/6988b26f0a4a2240b29cc4e9/rand-paul-obamacare.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # These Republicans Have Criticized the New House GOP Health Care Plan > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: What to Know About the GOP Healthcare Bill [Watch (HLS stream): What to Know About the GOP Healthcare Bill](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1y7XqJi0.m3u8) (0:49)  _Published 2017-03-07. House Republicans have unveiled their replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act. The plan differs from Obamacare in various ways._  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Mar 7, 2017 8:37 PM UTC  Sen. Rand Paul answers questions from the media after speaking to students at Western Kentucky University on Monday, Oct. 3, 2016, in the Grise Hall auditorium in Bowling Green, Ky. Sen. Rand Paul answers questions from the media after speaking to students at Western Kentucky University on Monday, Oct. 3, 2016, in the Grise Hall auditorium in Bowling Green, Ky.Austin Anthony—AP  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Mar 7, 2017 8:37 PM UTC The [health care plan](http://time.com/4693335/gop-health-care-plan-leaders/?xid=homepage) released Monday by House Republicans has drawn criticism from many of the party’s owm lawmakers. Some GOP legislators and [conservative groups](http://time.com/4693759/republican-party-obamacare-replacement-club-for-growth-heritage-action/) — including Heritage Action, Americans for Prosperity and the Tea Party Patriots — have spoken out against aspects of the drafted legislation. Several have called for an immediate repeal of the Affordable Care Act, while others have critiqued the proposal’s effects on Medicaid. Here are the Republican legislators who have criticized the new plan: **Utah Sen. Mike Lee** > [](https://twitter.com/SenMikeLee/status/839164182654242816) **Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul**Paul has been one of the more outspoken critics about the plan, repeatedly calling it “Obamacare Lite” and warning that it won’t pass. > [](https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/839105959918190592) > [](https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/839144449728983041) **North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows** Meadows [co-authored a Fox News column](http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/03/06/senator-paul-rep-meadows-lets-fully-repeal-obamacare-then-have-open-debate-on-how-to-replace-it.html) with Paul, calling for a full repeal of the Affordable Care Act, separate from a replacement bill. “Conservatives don’t want new taxes, new entitlements and an ‘Obamacare Lite’ bill. If leadership insists on replacing Obamacare with Obamacare-lite, no repeal will pass,” they wrote in the column. “Nobody wants Obamacare repealed more than we do. We think the only way to repeal Obamacare is to separate repeal from replace.” > [](https://twitter.com/RepMarkMeadows/status/838867850014179328) **Michigan Rep. Justin Amash** > [](https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/838889979501760514) > [](https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/839158773633679362) **Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert** In a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity on Monday, Gohmert criticized the new plan as “another entitlement program.” > [](https://twitter.com/replouiegohmert/status/839140764957478913) **Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski** In a [letter](http://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=press-releases&id=C6D96A68-A891-4BA1-8AD2-1CE166E0F8EB) to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday, all four senators criticized the health care plan, arguing that it lacks protections for Medicaid. They wrote that the plan fails to “provide stability and certainty for individuals and families in Medicaid expansion programs or the necessary flexibility for states.” The four senators, who said they support repealing the Affordable Care Act, said they won’t support a plan that doesn’t include that stability or flexibility. > [](https://twitter.com/senrobportman/status/838878359543148544) **Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan**“This is Obamacare by a different form,” Jordan, the former Freedom Caucus chairman, [told Politico](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/obamacare-repeal-conservatives-235753). “They’re still keeping the taxes in place and Medicaid expansion, and they’re starting a new entitlement.” **Virginia Rep. Dave Brat** Brat said he would not support the bill in its current form. “Now \[they\] are saying we’re going to do repeal and replace but the bill does nothing of the sort,” he told Politico. “\[Speaker\] Paul Ryan has always said the entire rationale for this bill is to bend the cost curve down, and so far I have seen no evidence that this bill will bring the cost curve down.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4693917/republicans-health-care-draft-criticism/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4693917/republicans-health-care-draft-criticism/"},"headline":"These Republicans Have Criticized the New House GOP Health Care Plan","datePublished":"2017-03-07T20:37:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:54:33.724Z","description":"Several Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about the plan thus far","url":"https://time.com/4693917/republicans-health-care-draft-criticism/","keywords":["Congress","Health Care","Healthcare","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7fc225f0c7767ee5/6988b26f0a4a2240b29cc4e9/rand-paul-obamacare.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7fc225f0c7767ee5/6988b26f0a4a2240b29cc4e9/rand-paul-obamacare.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Rand Paul","caption":"Sen. 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